Identifying Preferences Using A Conjugate Preparation

Abstract

Recently, Davis et al. (2021) reported that a conjugate preparation involving response force was a useful assessment for measuring the relative value of stimulus preference. The purpose of the current investigation was to replicate and extend Davis et al. (2021) by examining 98participants' preference for five pictorial stimuli. First, researchers used a verbal multiple stimulus without replacement (VMSWO) preference assessment with each participant to identify high preference (HP) and low preference (LP) pictorial stimuli. Next, participants viewed each pictorial stimulus presented in a randomized order on a computer while using a hand dynamometer that measured the amount of force exerted to increase or maintain the visual clarity of each pictorial stimulus. Results indicated a statistically significant correlation between participants' rank order of pictorial stimuli from the VMSWO assessment and the mean and peak force order from the conjugate assessment. Overall, individual results showed that over 75% of participants' HP stimuli, LP stimuli, or both from the VMSWO corresponded with the amount of force exerted to view them. Findings from the current study are consistent with those from Davis et al. (2021). Additional findings and implications for future research are discussed.